Newly promoted WorldTour race hopes to capitalise on the iconic climb discarded by the Ronde van Vlaanderen
When the organisation of the E3-prijs Vlaanderen announced the race’s route in November of last year, it announced that the Muur van Geraardsbergen would be included in its 203km parcours. The cobbled climb, which was a fixture in the parcours of the Ronde van Vlaanderen until its decision to relocate its finish to Oudenaarde, has always been avoided by the E3; Jacques Coussens, the race’s press officer, has explained to Het Nieuwsblad why the decision was taken to include it now.
“In the past we never included the Muur in our course, out of respect for the Ronde van Vlaanderen,” Coussens explained on behalf of the organisation. “The Muur was a symbol of the Ronde that was organised a week after our race. When we heard that they had not included it, we decided to name it in our race.
“In previous years the E3-prijs would pass within a kilometre of the Muur,” he added. “As organisers we won’t let this opportunity pass us by and so we have added it to this year’s parcours.”
The E3’s very existence was beginning to come under threat last year, as Flanders Classics – which organises the Ronde van Vlaanderen and many of Flanders’ other big races – took the decision to re-schedule WorldTour Gent-Wevelgem to the following day.
A further blow came when four-time winner Tom Boonen decided to miss the race in favour of Gent-Wevelgem, despite expressing a preference for the E3, because his then Quick Step team needed the WorldTour points.
The race’s promotion to the International Cycling Union’s (UCI) top series, requiring the sport’s top eighteen teams to ride, has breathed new life into the event. The inclusion of the Muur van Geraardsbergen also sees the race capitalise on what has been an unpopular decision by the Ronde with many Flandrians.
“The Muur is a monument,” said Coussens, “and we are only too pleased to be able to offer this spectacle to the cycling fans.”
While the race will be including the mythical climb that the Ronde has, at least temporarily, discarded, the Muur will not be the decisive element that it was in the more famous race. The 900 metre cobbled climb will be the first one tackled, after just 99 of the 203km; there will be twelve further climbs on the way back to the finish in Harelbeke, which will doubtless see far more action.
This year’s E3-prijs Vlaanderen will take place on Saturday March 23rd; the last two editions of the race have been won by Swiss champion Fabian Cancellara.
E3-prijs Vlaanderen Harelbeke Hills
1. Muur van Geraardsbergen, 99km
2. La Houppe, 122km
3. Berg Stene, 129km
4. Boigneberg, 134km
5. Eikenberg, 139km
6. Stationsberg, 143km
7. Taaienbeg, 148km
8. Kruisberg, 156km
9. Kapelberg, 160km
10. Paterberg, 164km
11. Kwarement, 169km
12. Knokteberg, 178km
13. Tiegemberg, 188km